Overthinking/overanalyzing

[arlin]

Guys, i recognized i have a problem that i have to address otherwise is damaging my mental health. And that is constant overthinking. I am addicted. My mind can't stop. I live with mental fatigue everyday and i am so tired. 

Do you have that kind of problem? How did you solve it? 

I know mindfullness is one of the approaches, but are there other ways to deal with it? 

[LeoIsMe69]

You have anxiety about the future. There are some things you are not taking care of. Have you tried psychedelics?

[MAYA EL]

I was like that till I was 28yr old I had it bad I'm talking about nonstop contemplating till 3am audio books while working you name it my mind never stopped  . But then one day I reached a point where I finally stilled my mind and now I have hardly any thoughts 

[Surfingthewave]

@arlin Firstly daily meditation is a must , there are many techniques out there, Leo explores them in his meditation vids. Exercise, such as yoga, journalling every day, letting go technique to name a few others. 

There are many many things you can do, try them for size and go with the ones that feel right for you. As an over thinker myself there are ways you can let it go.

The crux of this though is raising your awareness. Realising that your thinking is just thinking, similar to any other sensation in the body. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Surfingthewave

[Jordan94]

Go watch leo's "letting go" video

[arlin]

@Surfingthewave thank you

11 hours ago, LeoIsMe69 said:

You have anxiety about the future. There are some things you are not taking care of. Have you tried psychedelics?

I never tried psychedelics, but i will in the future for spiritual purposes. But for now, spirituality is not the main focus in my life. 

[allislove]

30 minutes of daily "do nothing" meditation helps to calm by mind.  

Also, you may try 'l-theanine'.

[Truth Addict]

• Consciously breathe from the stomach.
• Meditate + walk in the city at night or in nature.
• Allow the thoughts and contemplate their purpose and importance.
• Exercise.
• Shamanic Breathing.

Edited September 23, 2019 by Truth Addict

[arlin]

@Truth Addict

9 hours ago, Truth Addict said:

• Consciously breathe from the stomach.
• Meditate + walk in the city at night or in nature.
• Allow the thoughts and contemplate their purpose and importance.
• Exercise.
• Shamanic Breathing.

9 hours ago, Truth Addict said:

•  

Shamanic breathing is very interesting. But i really don't know where to start ahaha. Do you have any books on the subject? 

[Bill W]

 

[Truth Addict]

3 hours ago, arlin said:

@Truth Addict

Shamanic breathing is very interesting. But i really don't know where to start ahaha. Do you have any books on the subject? 

Why do you need books? That's your sneaky mind trying to overthink a simple practice.

The way I used to do it (I don't practice it anymore) is in short strong sets, I used to breathe heavily in and out as Leo suggested in his video for about 1 - 1.5 minutes which would make me very close to passing out, the visual field would start to disappear, etc... Then I would stop and enjoy the feeling. That's it.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Truth Addict

[TrynaBeTurquoise]

3 hours ago, arlin said:

@Truth Addict

Shamanic breathing is very interesting. But i really don't know where to start ahaha. Do you have any books on the subject? 

Watch the video Leo made on shamanic breathing. Its his own twist on holotropic breathwork. The goal here is to resurface subconscious emotions and deal with them. He talks about how often to do this at the end.

I would start first and foremost with meditation 20 minutes every day, in a comfortable position, I recommend  listening to binaural beats on youtube, taking deep nasal breaths in to your stomach and exhaling slowly, focusing on your breath and letting your mind wander without resistance. Try to always stay conscious of your deep breathing though.

[ttom]

If mindfulness style practices are too difficult initially, you could look at taking up a hobby that gets you into your body for a few hours a week. Like dance, surfing, mountain biking etc. You may find that this opens the door to a capacity for mindfulness. Good luck

[Dane]

@arlin I've also had this issue a lot. I think there are a few key points to realize...
 

1. Overthinkers can rejoice in the fact that they benefit from generally higher intelligence than average folks. Meaning that us overthinkers have a huge downside which is overthinking... But we have an advantage in that, we generally are smarter people. Many people do not have the ability to overthink at all. So consider that a benefit rather than a detriment.
2. Realize that despite what I said above, you never HAVE to overthink... You actually CHOOSE to. You can control it.
3. Realize that OVERTHINKING IS EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE AND BAD. It is like cancer - most people do not think about it in their day-to-day life but it is extremely destructive. Overthinking crushes dreams, stops positive action, causes suicides, makes people worse at their jobs, causes family distress and breakups, leads to jealous, hatred, and unrealistic conspiracies, etc... It is literally the root of all evil.

Now... YOU MUST PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING BELOW...

Stopping overthinking is simple. In fact, it's the easiest thing you'll ever do in your life. IN fact, it is so simple, that's why it's seemingly impossible.

 

The key is this - Your arms are tools for lifting and feeling. Your legs are tools for walking, running, lifting, etc.... Every body part you have is a tool for some tasks... You do not use your legs to score high on a math test. You don't use your index finger to press the gas pedal of your car.

The brain is a body part just like every other... It is TOOL. Just as you do not use your leg for everything, you must also not use your brain for everything. Your brain is not you... It's a TOOL in your toolbox. Right now, you are living thinking that you are your brain. This is false.

 

Now that you know this, stopping overthinking is as simple as a few things:
 

A) Obsserve your thoughts... Start writing them in a journal... Watch them... See how many go through your head. What are they saying? What are they about?

B) Realize that because you are writing your thoughts, you ARE NOT your thoughts... They are separate from you.

C) Now, begin to focus on your surroundings... You can stop thinking by shifting your focus out of your mind and onto a flower, or a sign, or a tree, or a pencil, etc... You can literally just shift your focus away from your mind.

Various techniques work better for others. For example, focusing on breathing works for many people. But before you do any of that, I also recommend you watch this video. It is the best video that will stop you from thinking:

 

 

 

The most important thing you must realize is that stopping overthinking is as simple as stopping thinking... That's it. But there is a paradox because the thinking mind wants to know "how" to stop thinking. It wants to know "why" it should... Etc... "How" "why" and even "to understand" are all THINKING CONSTRUCTS.... Meaning that by asking these questions, the mind is trying to think its way out of stopping thinking. It cannot do this... It ends up in a vicious endless loop of thinking. THERE IS NO WHY, THERE IS NO HOW... There are no instructions to stop thinking other than you just shift your focus elsewhere and stop thinking... But there are a few tricks which can help people as I mentioned above.

 

But it's literaly that simple. The biggest problem that arises is that you have to think again at work or school and then your mind grabs hold of you again and you begin to forget that you have control over you, then you get stuck in a cycle of thinking again. It takes a while to gain enough control to promptly cut off your mind but it can be done... I do it daily. I'll catch myself worrying about something and I'll say "OOP DANE, YOURE OVERTHINKING AGAIN" and I just completely drop the thought.